Based in Washington, D.C, Benjamin Dauer is a musician, artist and designer who is in possession of a talent that is combined with an impressive output. Besides his solo material, Benjamin is also known as one half of The Dwindlers, a duo with partner Michelle Seaman, whose recent album Dreams was also released on Portugalâs Feedback Loop to very favourable reviews. All this without a single slip in quality, one has to wonder where Benjamin derives such a wealth of inspiration from and when he finds time to sleep.

Saturation Event is an album comprising seven ambient tracks, thick with explorative synthesis and brooding undertones which surround the listener and hint at something which could be sinister, just out of reach. Opening with Borderland Of Sleep, Benjamin composes with care and the artist removes all trace of human design, leaving one alone to navigate a journey through the mysterious and immersive listening experience.

By mid-point, Benjamin delivers the intangible Crown Of Sparks, a possible album highlight, though it is difficult to pick out specific moments in such a cohesive, organic work. After many more high points have passed, the album comes to a close all too soon with Transient Pool. Saturation Event is another unique gem in Feedback Loopâs ever-expanding roster of experimental music and a work which will inspire further exploration of Benjamin's rich back catalogue of music.

Adam Williams

mastered by panicStudios
photo by Jessica Aliaga Lavrijsen
cover design by Leonardo Rosado
(cc) by nc nd June 2011


This audio is part of the collection: Feedbackloop Label
It also belongs to collection: Netlabels

Keywords: benjamin dauer; feedbackloop label; ambient; drone

Creative Commons license: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0

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Reviewer: Acts of Silence - - July 2, 2011
Subject: Borderland of Sleep
http://www.actsofsilence.com/album-review/borderland-of-sleep/

You can find Benjamin Dauer seemingly everywhere, not because he is prolific in his musical output, it’s just that he’s involved in several quality projects: a collaboration with poet Michelle Seaman who as The Dwindlers released *Dreams* on the Feedback Loop netlabel or the ambient-rock ensemble Feyman as well as his solo ambient albums: *Burning Wine* (2010) and *Saturation Event* (2011).

When I reviewed Dauer’s *Burning Wine* release on Distance Recordings, I wrote that calling *Burning Wine* “an ambient album is very limiting to the record.” Nor surprisingly the same can be said of Dauer’s Feedback Loop release *Saturation Event* especially if you take a listen to “Alistrati” (mp3) and “Falling Apart II” (mp3). Theses two tracks jump over the line from ambient to experimental as Dauer explores the place of noise or idiosyncratic beats within ambient realm. As a listener, what I expect from music, no, what I demand from music is that I am taken on an unknown path. I’m not interested in hearing a rehash of electronic music from the 90s or retread of something that artist has successfully accomplished in the past. In Dauer’s “pure” ambient tracks, he shuns the cliches tired ambient music and guides the listener along in a journey of foreign soundscapes.